Uniting adjoining portions of knitted webs.



L. N. D. WILLIAMS. UNITI NG ADJOINING PORTIONS 0F KNITTED WEBS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 17. I9l5.

Patented Apr. 25,1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET lw 8 6 m Ill! g a W v U W mm 6 vs KM front end of the sole of the foottthe stitches around the open end of this 'too To all whom it may concern:

no'nrs Nf'n. WILLIAMS, 0F-0G0NTZQPENNSYLVANIA.

- nmrme ADJOINING romrons or' NIir'rEn WEBS.

Be it known that I, LOUIS LIAMS, a citizen of the United States, residing in Ogontz, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Uniting Adj oining Portions of KnittedlVebs, of-which the following is a specification.

-My invention cons sts ofan' improvement in the" manufacture of that typeof hosiery in which the leg and foot are composed of seamless tubular knitted web having a seamless toe pocket integrally knitted with the pocket and the stitches around the forward edge of the.instep portion of the foot web being subsequently united by means'of a separately produced chain of stitches.

4 My invention has for its object the 'cheapwing of [the production of hosiery of this type, anobject which .I attain by saving" labor and preventing waste incident to the present method of producing such hosiery. Lab'oris saved by rendering unnecessary. the

application by hand to the pointslof a loopingmachine, stitch after stitch, first of the half course atthe termination of the instep web of the stocking, and then of'the half course around the open'end of the toe pocket, orvice versa. Waste is prevented by eliminating the handling web now formed beyond the instep web and toe pocket, for the'purpose of facilitating the application to thelooper points of the stitches which are to be united. v

In the-accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a sectional view of the forwardend of the foot portion of a stocking web as now produced, w th toe pocket upon the sole portion of the same, and a handling web beyond the toe pocket and instep web; Figs. 2,3, 4, and 5 are sectional views illustrating, in connection with the needle cylinder, needles and web holders-of an ordinary circular knitting machine, one means, in accordance with my invention, for. transferring from the needles the stitches around the instep and toe webs of the stocking, and Fig. (i is.a' sectional view of sufficient of a looping machine? to illustrate the .method of uniting these stitches.

An'article of hosiery having a seamless tubular leg and foot, a seamless heel knitted integrally with the rear half of the leg and the sole portion of the foot, and a seamless toe pocket knitted integrally with the fors -eeification of Letters Patent. I Patented Apr. 25, 1916. Application filed April it, 1915. seriai,n.=2 2,oo2. I

- wardendof tlie sole portion ofthe foot and N. D. WIL- having the stitches around the open mouth of the pocket united to those around the open end' of the instep portion of the foot Web 'and foot webs or for to-and-fro knitting" with alternate narrowing and widening ofthe web for'the production of the heel andextent as to be practically'automatic iii-their; action, hence, so far as the knitting of the stocking web is concerned, no further. economies-are tobe expected.

The operation of uniting the stitches "toe pockets have been developed to such an around the 'mouth'of the toe pocket to those around the forward edgefof the instep;portion of the foot web isstillfhowever, largely a hand operation and the Work people em ployed in this branch of the industry *notonly receive relatively high wages but are notalways available, for, even after, by

careful training, they have acquired suffionto the 'points of the looping machine,

eyes as to render it undesirable, and it is cient deftness to properly run the stitches difiicult, if not impossible, for a modern;

hosierymill to maintain a stafi of loopers (as they are called) sufficient to keep up with the output of the knitting machines. A very serious item of expenses, moreover, in connect-he stocking, is the necessity for forming a tion with this method ofclosing the toe of length of Web beyond the looping courses around the toe pocket and instep web to constitute what is known as a handling web,

to facilitate the application to the points of thelooping machine of the stitches which are to be united, this web, before beginning the looping operation, having to be raveled out and the yarn which formerly composed the handling web {having no furthervalue' except as waster] In Fig. 1 of the-accompanying drawings, 1 shows part-of 'the circular seamless foot. web of a stockingf? the semi-circularcourse of stitches around the instep portion of said web, 3 the toepocket knitted integrally with thesole portion of the web, 4 the semi-cirr cular course of stitches around the mouth' of said pocket which are to be united to the semi-circular course of stitches 2 in order to close the toe, and 5 the circular seamless lilantllinn web whic the same, the srit' represcn a ers cooperat o with 1,1eo,eeo

h xtencls beyond the ocular coin l ches 2 and -.l-.

11 carrying; on v invention ll dispense o the olrljectionalglle hand operations here to-fore necessary in closi the toe of the stocking, and hence with the necessity of forming the handling web 5, and transfer clirectly to a semrcircnho' set of looping points or quills (hereinafter, for convenience,

termed quills) fi st the stitches from the. needles around one-huif of the cylinder of from'the'nc oles around the other hall of cc-citing quills, with the the knitting matliinc and then the stitches l in hes upon them, being: then .oo' no machine whereby the two courses of applied to stitches of one r icircular course are united, to those oil the other semi-circular course in" the ordinary way. v

In Figs. 3, l and. 5 l have illustrated one form of device which may be employed for the purpose of transferring the stitches to and doubling them upon one and the samesemicircula set of stitch receiving; quills, but it :ul'd be understood that my invention is not limited to this particular form of device being, in this respect independent of the particular means employed. In Figs 3, -'land 5. part of the needle cylinder on an ordinary circula' knitting; machine repres'scntcd at ll, the vertically reciprocatimg needles thereof at T and 7,

and the horizontally reciprocating web W machine. in order to release their hold upon the stitches on the needles. El iii-circular ring segment having securml to and ojecting tlieicirom a SQIlll-Cli'tilllzi set oi tscl tlll receiving quills 10, equal in number to the needles around one-halt ol the macluue and so set as to accurately register with said needles.

engaged with the stitches upon one set otneedles, say the needles i said needles havingprenously been raised to such a point that the stitches upon them are below theopcn latches oi the needles, or as itis teclr uically-termed cleared. The ncedlcs arc thcn "fully" retracted so 1. to cast their stitches onto the quills l0, and the web holdthe needles 7 are re tracted so as to relieve these stitches of any further restraint.

The web holders around the other half of the machine having been retracted and the needles 7 and the stitches thereon having been raised, the segment 9 is lifted, as shown in Fig. 3, until the quills 10, with the then retracted so as to cast the stitches therefrom onto the quills, which will then carry the two terminal courses of stitches 2 and The ring segment and its stitchcarrying quills is then applied to the carrier ll of an ordinary looping machine, as shown in Fig 6, this carrier having a stepby-step movement, so that the stitches of each pair of the two semi-circular courses as well as the successive pairs of stitches can be joined in the ordinary way by means of the chain of stitches produced by said looping; machine. y

it will be evident, therefore, that my invention not only eliminates the application of the stitches by hand to the points of the looping machine, as now required in closing thetoes of stoclcings, but also saves the waste now arising from the necessity oi forn'iing the hamllin i;- web 5 adjacent to the course of stitches which are to be united.

ll hile l have shown my invention as applied to a. circular knitting machine it can also be used in connection with a machine having straight needle beds disposed back to back, the stitches being transferred to a straight set of quills first from the needles of one needle bed and then from the needles of the other uecdlc bcd. and instead of engaging'thc tcrmin ll courses of stitches upon thc'necdlcs. the stitch receiving quills may engage the stitches of a previous course, the

terminal course being subsequently cast or' of stitch-receiving quills \Vltll stitches. oi"

one partwu the web while the terminal stitches thereof are still upon th'e needles-of the knitting machine. then freeing the said terminal sifltchcst'rom'sald uccdlcs. thou en gaging "saidv stitch carrying quills with stitches of another part of the web while the tcrminal stitches tbcrcoi are still upon the necdlcs'whcrcby one aud'tbc same set of quills will carry two sets of stitches, one set in one part and the other set in the other part of the web to be united, and them freeing said terminal stitches from said needles.

2. The 'mode herein described of uniting ries of stitch-receiving quills with stitches of one part of the web while the terminal stitches thereof are still upon theneedles.

of the knitting machine, then freeingsaid terminalstitches from said needles. then engaging said stitch carrying quills withstitches of another part of the web while-the terminal stitches thereof are still upon the needles, then freeing said terminal stitches from said needles whereby one and the same set of quills will carry two sets-of stitches; one set in one part and the other set in the other part of the web-to be united, and then uniting the two courses of stitches upon the quills by means of a separately produced chain-of stitches.

3. The mode herein described of doubling stitches in one part of a knitted web with stitches in another part of thesame, said mode consisting in first engaging a series of stitch-receiving quills with terminal stitches of one part of the web while the same are still upon the needles of the knitting machine, then castingsaid terminal stitches from said needles onto said stitch carrying quills, then engagingthe quills with the terminal stitches of another part of the web while said terminal stitches are still upon the needles, and then casting said terminal stitches from said needles onto the quills whereby one and the same setof quills .will carry two sets of stitches, one set in one part and the other set in the other part of the web to be united.

4. The mode herein described of uniting stitches in one part of a knitted web with stitches in another part'of the same, said mode consisting in first engaging a series of stltch-receiving qu lls wlth terminal stitches of one part of the web while said stitches are still upon the needles of a knitting machine, then castingsaid terminal stit hes from said needles ontosaid stitch carrying quills, then engaging the quills with terminal stitches of another part of the web while the same) are still upon the needles, then.

casting said terminal stitches from said needles onto the quills whereby one and the same set of quills will carry two sets of stitches," one set in one part and the other set'in the other part of the web to be united, and then uniting the two courses of terminal stitches upon the quills by means of a separately produced chain of stitches.

The mode herein described ofdoubling stitches around one-half of a tubular knitted web with stitches around the other half of the samefsaid mode consisting in first en gaging a semi-circular series of stltch-receiving quills with corresponding stitches around one-half of the web while the terminal stitches thereof are still upon the needles of,the knitting machine, then freeing said terminal stitches from said needles, then en'- spondin-g stitches around the other half of the web while the terminal stitches thereof are stillupon the needles of that half of the knitting machine, and then freeingsaid ter-' initial-stitches from said needle whereby one.

. gaging said stitch carrying quills with correand the same set of quills Will'carry two sets of stitches, one set in one part andlthe other set -in the other part of the Web to be united.

6. The mode herein described of uniting stitches around one-half of a tubular knitted web with stitches around the other half of the same, said mode consisting in first e11 gaging a semi-circular ser es of stitch-re ceiving quills with corresponding stitches I around one-half of; the webwhile the terminal stitches thereof are still upon the needles of the knitting machine, then freeing said a terminal stitches from said needles, then engaging said stitch carryi'ngquill's with corresponding stitches around the other half. of

are stil'l'upon the needles of that half of the knitting machine, then freeing said terminal the web Wh'ilethe terminal stitches thereof stitches, one set in one part and, the other I set in the other part of the web to be united, and then uniting the two semi-circular courses of stitches upon the quills by means" of a separately produced chain of stitches.

7 The mode herein described of doubling stitches around one-half of a tubular knitted web with those around the other half of the same, said mode consisting in first engaging a semi-circular series of stitch-receiving quills with the terminal stitches carried by one-half of the needles of a circular knitting machine, then casting the stitches from said needles onto the quills, then engaging said stitch carrying quills with the terminal stitches upon the needles around the other half of the machine. and "then casting the stitches from the latter needles onto the quills whereby one and the same set of quills will carry two sets of stitches, one setin one part and the other set in the other part of the web to be united. I i

8. The mode herein described of uniting stitches around one-half of a tubular knitted web with those around the other half of the same, said mode consisting in first engaging.

a semi-circular series of stitch-receiving quills with the terminal stitches carried by one-half of the needles of a. circular knitting machine, then casting the stitches from said needles onto the quills,-then engaging said stitch carrying quills with the terminal stitches upon the needles around the other half of the machine, then casting the stitches from the latter needles onto the-quills whereby one and the same set of quills will carry two sets of stitches, one set in one part and the other set in the other part of the web to be united, andithen uniting the two semicircular courses of stitches upon the quills by means of a separately produced chain of stitches. K

v 9. The mode herein described of doubling stitches around one-half of a tubular knitted web with stitches around the other half of the same, said mode consisting in first engag ing a semi-circular series of stitch-receiving quills wlth corresponding stitches around one-half of the web While the terminal stitches thereof are still upon the needles of the knitting machine, then freeing said terminal stitches from said needles, then raising said stitch-receiving quills and the needles aroundthe other half of the ma-- chine, with the stitches upon them, then swinging said stitch-carrying quills downwardly and laterally into register with the raised needles around the' other half of the machine, then engaging said quills with corresponding stitches in that half of the web while the terminal stitches thereof are still upon the needles of that half of the knitting machine, and then freeing said terminal stitches from said needles, whereby one and the same set of quills will carry two sets of stitches, one set in one part and the other set in-the otherpart of the web to be united.

10. The mode herein described of uniting stitches around one-half of a tubular knitted web with stitches around the other half of the same, said mode consisting in first en- 40.

gaging a semi-circular series of stitch-receivin'g quills withcorresponding stitches around one-half of the web while the ter minal stitches thereof are still upon the needles of the knitting machine, then freeing said terminal Stitches from said needles then raising said stitch-receiving quills and the needles around the other half of the machine, with th'e'stit ches upon them, then swinging said stitch-carrying quills downwardly and laterally into register with the raised needles'around the other half of the machine, then engaging said quills with correspondmgstitches m that half of the gveb while the terminal stitches thereof are still upon the needles of that half of the knitting ma lune, and then freeing said terminal stitches from said needles whereby one and.

thesame set of quills will carry two sets of stitches, one set in one part and the other set in the other part of-the web to be united,

and then uniting the semi-circular courses of stitches upon the quills by means'of a separately produced chain of stitches.

11. The mode herein described of doudling stitches around one-half of a tubular knitted web with those around the other half of the same, said mode consisting in first engaging a semi-circular serles of stitch-receiving quills with the terminal stitches carried by one-half of the needles of a circular knit ting machine, then casting the stitches from said needles onto the quills, then raising said quills and the needles around the other half of the machine, with the stitches upon them, then swinging said stitch-carrying quills downwardly. and laterally into register with said raishd needles, then engaging said quills with the terminal stitches upon said needles,

and then casting said terminal stitches from said needles, whereby one and the same set of quills will carry two sets of stitches, one set in one part and the other set in the other part of the web to be united.

12. The mode herein described of unitingstitches around one-half of a tubular knitted web with those around the othei halt of the same, said mode consisting in first engagmg a semi-circular series of stitch-receiving ,quills with the terminal stitches carried by I said raised needles. then engaging said quills with the terminal stitches upon said needles, then casting said terminal stitches from said needles, whereby one and the same set of quills will carry two sets of stitches, one set in one part and the other set in the other part of the web to be united, and then uniting the two semi-circular courses of stitches upon the quills by means of a separately produced chain of stitches.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specificatlon. 1n the presence of two subscribing witnesses. I

I LOUIS N. D. \VILLIAMS.

Witnesses:

Ka'ru A. BnAnLu,

HAMILTON l). TURNER. 

